Beyond the obvious difference in language, the
Japanese title was also changed from "Godzilla:
Domination" to "Godzilla: Great Monster
Fray Advance", which was the same title as
the Gamecube's Godzilla:
Destroy All Monsters Melee in Japan, sans
"Advance". The overall title design
is also much more ornate and eye catching compared
to the US one.

Character: Godzilla

By the time the title was being prepared for its Japanese
release, production on Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) was in full swing. Interested
in capitalizing on the latest movie's impending release,
Atari altered the game slightly with a few references
from that movie that were implemented on the character
roster. For Godzilla, the designers changed his skin
color from the stereotypical green to a gray tone, more
reflective of the bulk of his movie appearances. The
other change, one that clearly ties in with the 2003
film, was the addition of a scar marking on the King
of the Monster's chest, which was caused by Kiryu in
the previous movie: Godzilla
Against Mechagodzilla (2002). This change is
less noticeable on the creature for his "in game"
appearance, but is very recognizable on the larger "match
up" view. Move wise, though, Godzilla is entirely
unchanged.

Character: Mechagodzilla

The most drastic change to the characters is Mechagodzilla,
who takes on the visage of Kiryu from Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) as opposed to the Heisei
series version. These changes include: alterations to
the character's dorsal fins, the addition of the rocket
launcher pack to his shoulders, a drill hand and more.
Regretably, though, the character has the same exact
moves as the Mechagodzilla in the US version; in fact,
even the look of the moves is retained, which is particularly
disheartening for the character's missile attack as
the "boxed" rocket launchers still emerge
from his back to unleash missiles, rather than using
the ones already located on Kiryu's shoulders. For reference,
the character's drill hand goes entirely unused in this
game. It should also be mentioned that the ending for
Mechagodzilla still showcases the Heisei version as
well.

Character: Mothra

The last of the altered characters, Mothra
also features the least noticeable changes over
its previous incarnation. In fact, in game,
there are only two noticeable differences compared
to the US version. The first is that the white
coloring of the character has been dropped and
replaced with a very light and "earthy"
brown. Secondly, the mouth was altered from
the "two prong" look to one that more
resembles the brown one seen in the films. Despite
their efforts, though, the character still looks
most reminiscent to her appearance in Godzilla,
Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out
Attack (2001) as opposed to any other
film. The "match up" look to the character
has been changed around more noticeably, though,
as its eyes were changed to a teal hue, while
the mouth was completely redone and the overall
coloring was changed to more reflect its appearance
in Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. (2003); however, its wing
coloring is still distinctly that of the 2001
version.

It should be noted, that Mothra
actually has one of its moves changed for the
Japanese version. The move in question is the
character's poison powder, which instead of being
colored the previously questionable vibrant purple
is now a very light brown; an alteration that
looks more in line with its use in Mothra
vs. Godzilla (1964). The change, though,
is only cosmetic, as the attack itself has the
same effect.

Player Notation

A very small change,
but a symbol, such as "1P" or "2P",
now appears above all human controlled characters outside
of Story Mode in the Japanese version.

Story Options

Arguably the neatest
feature of the Japanese version is the additional options
for Story mode. In total, there are three modes of
play: "default", "survival" (no continues, life does
not refill between matches), "rage" (all players start
the match with a full meter that continues to grow
by the second). The
"rage" option changes the game up a lot, as new
things are possible such as firing Kiryu's missiles
three times in a row. However,
it also shifts the balance between the characters dramitcally;
for example, Rodan can finish off most opponents in
a matter of seconds with his Beak Charge.

Stage Order

In the Japanese version,
the stage order has been juggled around quite a bit.
The second stage is now a one-on-one match (instead
of two-on-one);
stage three is now two-on-two (instead of one-on-one);
stage four is a three monster free-for-all (instead
of a two-on-two); stage five is a four monster free-for-all
(instead of one-on-three);
stage six is a one-on-three match (instead of one-on-one);
stage seven is a one-on-two match (instead of a four
monster free-for-all). Both the opponents and allies
of these stages are now completely random as well.

Bonus Stages

For the Japanese version
of the game, the bonus stages have been removed, greatly
speeding up the time it takes to reach Mecha-King Ghidorah.

Language

US Version

No one is probably surprised by the fact that the in
game language appears as Japanese in the version released
in Japan. What is worth noting, though, is that this
is the only language available in that version, compared
to the US one which supported: English, French, Dutch,
Italian and Spanish.

Company Credit

By the time the game
was released in Japan, Infogrames had made a transition
from their previous title to that of Atari, an asset
which they acquired as part of a deal in 2001. By May
of 2003, the company made a full switch to utilizing
the Atari brand name, dumping the title of Infogrames
which they had previously operated under. The Japanese
version of this game, which was released in 2003, reflects
this change.